As the golden sun rises over the U.S. Capitol, its first rays strike the gentle slope of the National Museum of the American Indian's shallow dome. It then illuminates the graceful curve of an extreme cantilever sheltering the outdoor welcoming area. This fluid, curvilinear building, reminiscent of a Western mesa, is not only golden by reflection, but intrinsically, as the rough-hewn Kasota stone retains its warm amber hue after the sun has passed.

The rising sun not only reveals a physical structure but shines its rays onto the long overlooked and immense contributions of the Native peoples of the Americas to the history and character of the United States and the Western Hemisphere as a whole, and the ongoing and increasingly vital role Natives are playing in shaping the future of the nation and hemisphere.

Continuing downward, the sunlight now reflects the image of the sun etched in the four pairs of glass doors at the building's main entrance: the eastern doors. The visitor has reached this point after entering the 4.25-acre site at its northwest corner and taking a pleasant clockwise stroll through an upland hardwood forest on the building's northern side and along a long, flowing water feature. In fact, the handsome museum structure itself occupies but one-quarter of the site. Donna House (Navajo/Oneida), the project's ethnobotanist landscape consultant, also incorporated wetlands, meadowlands and traditional farming fields around the building, demonstrating the diverse types of lands Native peoples of the local area thrived upon in the past. This attention to place was also honored by the placement, on the summer solstice of 2004, of four grandfather rocks from the cardinal points of the Western Hemisphere (the westernmost being Hawaii) at the four cardinal points of the museum grounds.

Upon entering the 350,000 square-foot museum, the Welcome Wall greets visitors in approximately 200 Native languages, conveying the diversity of Native peoples throughout the Americas. Inside, one is surrounded by the work of the other primary members of the project's design team: architects Johnpaul Jones (Cherokee/ Choctaw), Douglas Cardinal (Blackfoot), Lou Weller (Caddo), and artist Ramona Sakiestewa (Hopi). Cardinal, Jones and Weller were responsible for the structure, while Sakiestewa concentrated on interior design.

A 120-foot-wide rotunda, named Potomac, is capped by a domed skylight 120 feet high directly over an inlaid center piece, a disk of pipestone representing an abstraction of fire created by Travis Erickson (Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux). The four cardinal directions extend from this circle, as do the solstices and equinoxes, mapped in the floor with rings of black and red granite.

High in the south wall, a slender vertical window houses eight large prisms, each of which are sited to the sun for a particular time of day-a reflection of Native fluency with the cosmos and calendars. The Potomac's wall of copper bands is woven in a fashion echoing Native baskets and textiles, and even the elevators that lead to the exhibition floors sport sun symbols on the outside of their doors and bird motifs on the inside.

The museum's Mitsitam Café (which means "let's eat" in the Piscataway language) presents meals based on the rich variety of Native foods and diverse culinary traditions. By serving up the Native bounty of the Americas, this dining area overlooking the north grounds is an integral part of the museum's overall mission of education.

Next to the facility's Chesapeake Museum Store stands a 20-foot totem pole carved by Nathan Jackson (Tlingit). This icon's story is typical of the reciprocity within the entire fabric of the NMAI. In 2001 the museum repatriated a Bear Clan totem pole from its vast collection to the Saxman Tlingit, Cape Fox community. As a token of appreciation, the Cape Fox Native Corporation presented a 20-foot cedar log to NMAI. The museum then commissioned Jackson to carve the new totem pole, which connects the first-floor Chesapeake Store with the second-floor Roanoke Museum Store.

Encircling the ground-floor performance center in the heart of the Potomac is a series of six eight-foot bronze figures and eight ceramic masks by Roxanne Swentzell, a noted Santa Clara Pueblo sculptor. Within this figurative ring, two Native watercraft are under public construction. A Native Hawaiian canoe and an Inuit kayak are being built, demonstrating the beauty and utility by which diverse Native peoples have met the challenges of the natural elements.

The Lelawi Theater on the fourth floor offers a 13-minute multimedia introductory experience revealing the diversity of the Western Hemisphere's Native peoples. Lelawi is a Lenape (Delaware) word for "in the middle," an appropriate name for this futuristic theater, in which the floor and the theater's 40-foot dome become part of the screen presentation.

The museum's Main Theater, a 320-seat in-the-round space on the first floor, is enclosed by vertical wood paneling, giving visitors the feeling of entering a forest that then opens up to a bright night sky. Equipped with a dazzling array of multimedia projection systems and language-translation systems, this theater will present a wide variety of programs, from dance, music and drama to film festivals and storytellers.

The third and fourth floors house four large exhibition galleries. The inaugural Allan Houser and George Morrison exhibition will share these floors for the first year with the museum's three permanent exhibits: "Our Universes: Traditional Knowledge Shapes Our World," "Our Peoples: Giving Voice to Our Histories" and "Our Lives: Contemporary Life and Identities." Also, "Window on Collections: Many Hands, Many Voices" will present more than 3,500 objects from the museum's collection in a series of exhibitions on the third and fourth floors. Altogether, some, 8,000 objects from the museum's permanent collection will be on view for the museum's opening.

"With this new museum, the Smithsonian is keeping its pledge to Native peoples across the hemisphere to not only honor their traditions and achievements, but also to celebrate contemporary Native culture represented through art, dance, music, film, theater and so much more," concludes Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lawrence M. Small. "It's a significant addition to the nation's capital, and the nation itself."

The pantheon of Native peoples that is the National Museum of the American Indian on the Mall is one of movement. The Native Nations Procession on Sept. 21, 2004 (see sidebar) to open the museum is clearly the beginning movement of Native peoples telling their own stories. After centuries of outright physical assault and then political, religious, social, cultural and economic oppression, Native Americans are at last again standing tall. The new National Museum of the American Indian will both educate the general public about past and present Native life, and empower Natives with a sense of pride in their wide-ranging accomplishments in all realms of life. It represents a closing of the broken hoop of hope and life in Turtle Island and signals a new dawn in America.

Gary Avey of Phoenix is the publisher and executive editor of Native Peoples, which he founded in 1987.

NMAI Opening-Week Activities Native Nations Procession 8 a.m.­noon, Tuesday, Sept. 21 Join Native communities and non-Native supporters from throughout the Western Hemisphere in the Native Nations Procession on the National Mall. Thousands of people, many in traditional dress, will walk in unison from the Smithsonian Castle to the site of the Opening Ceremony, directly in front of the U.S. Capitol. The procession will provide an enduring symbol for the dawning of a new era: the opening of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). Procession registration has been extended to Sept. 1; to register, visit the Web site www.AmericanIndian.si.edu. Opening Ceremony Noon­1 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 21 Held on Third Street at the foot of the majestic U.S. Capitol, the Opening Ceremony will include remarks from Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence M. Small, NMAI Director W. Richard West, U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell and U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye, followed by cultural presentations representative of the Native nations from the four directions. A blessing will be offered, and then elders and children will walk into the new building together to signal the public opening of the museum. First Americans Festival 1 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 21 through Sunday, Sept. 26 Immediately following the Opening Ceremony, the museum will kick off a major six-day performing and visual arts festival featuring more than 300 participants from 50 tribes and Native communities. It will be held on the Mall between Third and Seventh streets; admission is free. The performance arts will include Native dancers, dramatists, comedians and storytellers from North, South and Central America, working in both contemporary and traditional forms on five different stages. Music alone will range from blues, rock and hip-hop to throat singing, Hawaiian chants, hymns and slack-key guitar. The Festival Marketplace will offer arts and crafts, recordings, publications and other works made by Native artists. A Native food court will highlight Native foods of the Americas, including main dishes of corns, beans, squash, caribou and buffalo, as well as desserts. Some 20 artisans will demonstrate traditional musical-instrument making (from drums and rattles to flutes and fiddles), while some 15 people will demonstrate creation of regalia (from masks and moccasins to jingle dresses and Pueblo tablitas, or headdresses). A major concert on Sept. 21 at 5:30 p.m. will feature Buffy Sainte-Marie, Lila Downs, Rita Coolidge with Mary Youngblood, and Indigenous. Another concert kicks off at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 25, featuring Star Nayea, the Pappy Johns Band and Keith Secola. Some 21 other musical groups are scheduled to perform during the festival, as well as 14 storytellers and eight dance troupes. For a complete performance schedule, visit www.AmericanIndian.si.edu. Museum Visitation Actually visiting the National Museum of the American Indian during its opening week will call for some advance planning due to the number of visitors expected. Passes with designated time slots will be required for admission, except from midnight to 7 a.m. on Sept. 22, when the doors will be open to all, free of charge. Advance timed-entry passes can be obtained online at www.AmericanIndian.si.edu or www.tickets.com; or by telephone at 866/400-6624. While the passes themselves are free, tickets.com will charge a service fee of $3.25 per pass. Same-day passes will also be available on a first-come, first-served basis at the museum's east entrance beginning at 9 a.m., Sept. 21­26. Group passes for 10 or more visitors will also be available by reservation after Aug. 16. For general information about visiting the NMAI or accessing its many outreach programs and projects, call 202/633-1000; write to NMAI, Fourth Street and Independence Ave. S.W., Washington, DC 20024; or visit www.AmericanIndian.si.edu.

NMAI Public Programs In addition to its exhibitions, the National Museum of the American Indian offers a wide range of public programs in partnership with Native peoples of the Western Hemisphere to educate audiences about Native histories, traditions, languages and cultural arts. The museum's public programs department offers a variety of events and services at both the George Gustav Heye Center in New York City and at the new museum on the National Mall. Educational Programs Programs include participatory activities and demonstrations, gallery programs, classes and workshops, interpretive materials and distance-learning initiatives. These include: Cultural Interpreter Program: Native educators or cultural interpreters in the exhibition galleries will help explain the content in the exhibitions for scheduled groups and visitors to the museum. Discovery Carts: Cultural interpreters will use mobile "discovery carts" to facilitate interactive presentations for children and visitors. These carts will provide children with a hands-on learning experience about the tribes and communities that are represented in the museum's exhibitions. Potomac Center Demonstrations: The Potomac area, or large central gathering space in the heart of the museum, will provide a space for dynamic demonstrations for visitors. The first theme will be "Native Boat Building Traditions," offering visitors the opportunity to observe and talk to boat builders and their apprentices. Hawaiian dugout canoe and Inuit kayak building will be demonstrated during the opening months of the museum. Education Resource Materials: Educational materials are available to teachers nationwide to educate students about the contributions American Indians have made, and continue to make, in the arts and culture. Materials are currently being produced about the communities featured in the opening exhibitions and will include a "Museum Family Guide," a "Teacher's Guide," a "School Programs Guide" and an "Indians of the Mid-Atlantic Region Guide." In addition, through the museum's partnership with Scholastic Inc., an eight-page teaching guide has been developed and is available online under "Education" at www.AmericanIndian.si.edu. Classes and Workshops: Activity classes and hands-on workshops will provide unique opportunities for children and adults to learn about specific topics such as oral traditions, cultural designs, weaving and beadwork. Workshops will be offered on school days after December 2004 for students, and on evenings and weekends for teachers and adults. Native Playwrights: The museum will commission Native playwrights to script productions for the museum and will present contemporary plays by Native playwrights. Cultural Arts The museum's Cultural Arts Program will allow visitors to experience the vibrancy of living cultures through dance, music, theater and storytelling performances, as well as dialogues, talks, festivals, conferences and symposia. These include: Programs and Demonstrations: Native performers, musicians, artisans and craftspeople, authors, poets, scholars, journalists and prominent spokespeople will be featured in programs and demonstrations for the general public and for targeted audiences. Programs at the Mall museum will include series titled "Native Spirit: Performing Arts" and "Native Voices: Native American Writers." Reaching Audiences Outside of the Museum: The Cultural Arts Program will also reach audiences outside of the museum walls through relationships with tribal colleges, other Native and non-Native community-based organizations and the public through touring programs, interactive electronic outreach programs, and, where available, videoconferencing. Community Service Programs Native Arts Program: NMAI offers opportunities for Native artists to conduct research in museum collections and to work within their home communities on related projects (see www.conexus.si.edu). Internship Program: Students (Native and non-Native) acquire skills in curating, research, public programming, exhibition development, external affairs and publications through a hands-on training program at the museum. Community-based Workshops: Topics include collections methods, exhibition development, repatriation and photographic documentation. Visiting Professional Program: Native professionals of many fields receive training at the museum in various fields. Resource Center The mission of the museum's Cultural Resource Center, located in Suitland, Maryland, is to provide information resources to the public, both Native and non-Native. The Resource Center hosts training programs for Native students. To date, the museum has worked with five tribal schools, training the students and teachers in digital imaging, videography, audio recording and QuickTime Virtual Reality. Projects have included students selecting objects from their tribe or community within the museum's collection and photographing, researching and writing about them. Completed projects are then posted online. Seminars and Symposia The museum will offer an ongoing monthly series of part/full-day seminars that expand on exhibition content and link the content to present-day issues for Indian communities. The museum also will annually host two national, multi-day symposia allowing for in-depth examinations of important historical, cultural and present-day issues facing Native communities. The first of these symposia will be held this fall. Film and Video The Film and Video Center, located in the George Gustav Heye Center in New York City, celebrates the continuous growth in Native media through its collection and daily film screenings and the biennial Native American Film and Video Festival. Film and video programs will also be offered at the new museum, including a summer feature film series, "At the Movies." Publications The museum's publishing program includes scholarly books, exhibition-related books, a series of illustrated children's books featuring Native authors and illustrators, music recordings, and various print products such as calendars and note cards. The museum's publications include the award-winning quarterly magazine American Indian, which is offered as a benefit of membership in the museum.